Crown to appeal Moses and Stevens case

Thursday, October 11th 2001, 7:26AM

Although former Reeves Moses Hudig bosses Roger Moses and Gary Stevens have been cleared of securities-related charges, their battle is not yet over.

The Companies Office has decided to appeal the District Court decision to dismiss the 30 charges laid against each of the two men.

The former directors were originally charged with 70 breaches of the Securities Act and Contributory Mortgage regulations. If found guilty the penalty ranged from a fine to a term in jail,

However the number of charges were reduced to 30 by the time the trial started in the District Court at Auckland in August, and some of the charges were dismissed during the hearing.

The alleged offences, which all related to four development loans made in 1999, occurred while the two men were directors of contributory mortgage broker Reeves Moses.

The Companies Office says it hopes the appeal will help to clarify the law about responsibilities of directors of companies that issue securities, particularly contributory mortgage broking companies.

A key figure in the case is former Reeves Moses' mortgage manager, Peter Van Nieuwkoop. He is alleged to have altered documents and made changes, such as to the interest prepayments, without authorisation and is yet to face trial.